An Earthborn Asgardian
by Kefalion
Summary: Loki tries to escape after the Battle and when Thor asks why he does even though he knows he has lost, Loki tells him about Harry. Loki/Harry
1. The Revalation

**An Earthborn Asgardian**

* * *

This is a Harry Potter, The Avengers Crossover by Kefalion aka. Frida. This is a story with focus on Harry Potter and Loki, but also on the relation between the wizards of earth and the Asgardians. This is Loki/Harry.

As you very well know I don't own the plot or the characters that you recognize.

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**Part 1: The Revelation**

_Words: 3 847_

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The Tesseract had been stopped, Tony had managed to dispose of the nuke and make it out in time. The battle was over and they had won.

It should be a time of joy, but looking around at the devastation Thor felt weary. Since coming to Midgard again he hadn't had as much as a moment of rest. Between battles, fighting with the people who he was supposed to work with and worrying about his brother there hadn't been time to relax.

Thinking about Loki only made his frown deepen. Now waited a highly unpleasant task. He would have to face his brother and make sure that Loki was punished for his actions. Despite what had happened between them Thor still loved his brother and facing the hatful creature he had become was hardly something he looked forward to.

Together with the other members of the Avengers initiative he made his way to the top floor of Stark Tower where his brother had last been spotted, getting beaten by the Hulk.

When they entered Loki was trying to crawl to his feet, using the low set of stairs that ran through the room.

His breathing was laboured, his robes and armour were dust covered, his usually sleeked-back hair was in disarray and a he had smudges of blood and bruises on his face. He looked like what he was; defeated.

Loki turned his face and noticed the six people standing over him, their expressions hard and their weapons raised. He gave a small, sardonic grin looking at Iron Man.

"I'll take that drink now, if it's all the same to you," he said, acknowledging that he had lost.

He was met by steely silence. They did not lower their weapons; not trusting the infamous trickster to not have another card up his sleeve, no matter how defeated he may appear.

And one more card up hi sleeve was exactly what he had. The image of Loki on the floor flickered and disappeared as if it had never been there.

"You will always fall for that no matter how many times I do it, won't you?" Loki's dry comment came from behind them.

Thor whirled around, Mjolnir raised, seeing his brother standing at the balcony. He looked just as haggard as the illusion, but he was smiling a bit wistfully at them. It was strange, if he had been able to sneak past them why would he call attention to himself?

"I understand that you have to bring me in, what I have done here today..." he trailed off. "But I can't allow you to do so." With that the self exiled Asgardian turned to run.

"Oh no, you don't," Tony muttered, jumping into the air, taking off after the fleeing Asgardian and the rest of them were quick to follow.

The Hulk got to Loki first, grabbing him in his hand, holding him tight and making ready to take out the puny god once more, looking forward to squishing him into pulp.

"Thor!" Loki cried in a shrill tone, pleading for help, and before the Hulk could harm him further the God of Thunder placed a hand on the huge green creature's arm, stopping it from doing anything but growl at the man in his fist.

"You brought this upon yourself brother. You cannot flee from justice. You have lost today. Your army is gone, as is the sceptre and you no longer control the Tesseract. Why would you try to escape?"

"I made a promise," Loki said a in a barely audible voice, "and for all my shortcomings - yes I will admit that they are many," he added as he was given several glares, "I never break a promise unless I can help it. It was what brought me here in the first place."

"What do you speak of? You told me that you wished to rule Midgard as a king! You showed such ambitions long before that and now you speak of a promise? Who was this promise made to and in what purpose?"

Loki swallowed thickly. "Harry," was all he said.

"Who is this Harry you speak of?"

"I do not wish to speak about it, least of all with you." He managed to give a harsh sneer, despite the position he was in.

"Yeah that's great," Tony said dryly not impressed in the least. "However we don't much care about what you've promised anyone. You're not getting away, so I suppose you'll have to break your word. We beat you good. Admit to it."

Loki stared at Tony for a long moment, before he visibly deflated, hanging limply in the Hulk's hand. "Alright Mr. Stark I yield."

"No more tricks?" Natasha asked, keeping the gun she had in the hand which wasn't holding the sceptre pointed at the dark-haired demigod.

"No more tricks."

"We'll see about that," Clint muttered, not about to trust the Asgardian. He if any of the assembled heroes hated the dark-haired god. He would never forgive Loki for what he had forced him to do.

Loki smirked. "You really do have heart."

Clint scowled and tensed his bow a bit farther.

"And a sharp mind as well," Loki continued. "I promise that there will be no more tricks from me, _today." _He said this with empathise on today, not earning any trust. The trickster might have been smirking but then he cowered as the Hulk growled in his face, spittle flying.

"Then you'll follow my commands, you'll return with me to face the judgement of our father?"

"Hold on a sec right there. You're saying that you will just whisk away with him?" Tony protested. "No, no, no. His crimes were against earth and I'll be damned if he doesn't get sentenced by us."

Steve placed a hand on Tony's shoulder holding him off and facing Thor. "Will he be judged?"

"Aye."

"Will he have to answers for what he has done?"

"He will."

"Will his punishment be suitable for his crimes?"

"I will make certain that his sentence corresponds with his actions."

"Then I agree with you."

"Cap! You can't be serious!" Tony was not happy with this and he could see that Agent Barton was in agreement with him. "And I can't believe I'm saying this, but Fury will not stand for it!"

"Loki is of Asgard and he will face Asgardian justice."

"Right," Agent Romanoff intervened. "That can all be decided later. For now he's back in custody."

"Fine, we'll dump him off for Fury to handle, then we're going for Shawarma. No excuses!"

.:oOo:.

It was decided that Thor would be allowed to bring his brother home. For that they needed the Tesseract, as the previous means of transportation, the Bifrost, remained unavailable.

Over the two weeks it took to finalize everything Loki attempted to escape no less than five times. Each time he was stopped.

The day before they would depart Thor rushed into the cell where his brother was kept. Tony had just informed him that he and Steve had prevented another escape attempt. Thor was fed up with it. He needed answers and Loki was going to provide them, whether he wanted to or not.

"Why do you continue this farce?" Thor asked exasperated. "We both know that your powers are bond, and even were it not for the shackles, you still wouldn't be able to use them. Your magic is temporarily depleted, don't think that I do not recognize the signs; I've known you your whole life! There is no way you could run and yet you have continued to try. Tell me why!"

"Why do you care so much?" Loki sneered. "I am not your brother nor have I given you any reason to care about me over the last year. I am a criminal, a usurper, a trickster, a monster," he paused his tirade and added more softly, "a failure."

"No," Thor could feel his anger evaporating, "that is not true. I may not agree with what you've done, but no matter whom you were born to or what you do, you will always be my brother. We've grown up together, we've fought together, we've laughed and we've cried together. Such bonds are impossible to erase. I care about you. Can't you see that, Loki? Won't you tell me about Ha..?"

Loki snorted. "You claim to care and yet you fail to recall the name I told you, not that it surprises me. "

"Tell me, please," Thor pleaded gently.

Loki sighed, rubbing his wrists where the magic-inhibiting-shackled bound him. "Do you remember that magic used to be more common on Midgard then even in Asgard? Do you remember the stories mother… no," he shook his head lightly, "_Frigga _used to tell us about the great civilisation which magic enabled here on earth? That they had communities which were grand enough to rival the greatest cities of Asgard?"

Thor was saddened that Loki wouldn't call Frigga mother. He had been able to accept that Odin had lost the right to be called father, but their mother had always treated them equally. Though it must have been her siding with the All Father that made Loki take out his bitterness on her as well.

"I remember," he murmured, looking into his brothers eyes which were softer then he had seen them in a long time, perhaps ever. "Though I do not follow. What has this to do with anything? The magical population of Midgard is gone. It was gone before you and I ever sat foot on this world. The wizards are gone and so are the descendants of the Asgardians who married them."

"Ah yes, the half Asgardians who weren't allowed to the realm of gods, lacking immortality as they were. It's appropriate that you should bring them up. You see they are not gone, just hidden."

Thor was surprised by this revelation, but he kept quiet allowing his brother to continue.

"Just as people on Asgard shun me for having magic, not thinking me a proper warrior, so did the majority of the humans shun the wizards. They burnt magic wielders at the stake simply for being what they were." Loki fell silent, looking down at his fingernails.

"I still do not understand what you're trying to tell me."

The dark-haired male sighed. It was not easy for him to speak like this, laying bare his emotions, but he realized that if he wanted to reach his goal this was what he'd have to do.

"I saw myself in them. You were always away seeking honourable battle. Neither you, nor your parents or your friends understood me. Nor did you care to."

"But…"

"No! That is the truth!" Loki said harshly, the anger he'd felt for so long flaming up once more. "You were much to self-absorbed to see it. You did not notice me. I was but a convenience, there to get you out of trouble when the need be and then left to be forgotten."

Loki thought about saying no more. He didn't want to tell the Odinson anything. He thought about his goal again and forced himself to calm.

"Hearing the stories about the wizards of Midgard gave me hope," he continued, "but how was I to be friends with someone who would die while I just kept on living? What I did was that I created three objects. Three powerful objects that if united would have the potential of awakening the dormant Asgardian blood in a wizard. If they were ever united by one person I would be alerted and I would return to see if I thought the person was worthy of being a companion to me."

"That person you mentioned," Thor said, beginning to understand.

"Yes, though it did not work out quite as I had planned. When I arrived seven years ago I found that the blood had already been woken. While I created the items I subconsciously added in them a key. To reawaken the immortal blood of… your people you had to have certain characteristics that I desired and valued. Harry possessed them all, that combined with the raw magical power in his core started a process which over five years changed him into a full-blooded Asgardian."

"That sounds, incredible. Why didn't you ever tell anyone?"

Loki snorted. "What was I supposed to say? That I had granted power to an unknown individual, to someone who belonged to a people which had been exiled before ever being welcomed on the world of their ancestors?"

"You should have let everyone know that wizards still existed. You should have revealed your experiment and Harry."

"I was young when I created the Hallows, yet another mistake of mine is what you all would say."

Thor shook his head but Loki did not see it. His eyes where glassed as he appeared to be seeing something far away."And I just couldn't do that to Harry," he added in a soft whisper.

"You care about him don't you?"

"Of course I do. He possesses all the qualities I valued; courage, strength, honesty, intelligence, cunning and kindness. You can't believe how much he has been through while still being so young. He is not ready for this new life that I ultimately cursed him with and until he is I could not allow anyone on Asgard to know of him."

Thor was surprised by Loki. His brother wasn't acting condescending, well not as he had learned to expect during their time on earth. He had a soft gleam in his eyes, something Thor had only seen when Loki interacted with his pet as a child.

"There is more to this. You love him, don't you?"

Loki snapped his head up and stared fixedly at him, trying to read the blond man. "Don't judge me for that, Thor. Judge me for my stupid decisions, my ruthlessness and the lives I've taken, but don't you dare look down on me for loving him."

Thor was surprised at the revelation that Loki loved another male; for by the way he turned defensive he made it obvious that it was not brotherly love. Same sex relationships weren't largely accepted on Asgard. There was a lot of prejudice, although no one would say anything directly it would be frowned upon. It would not endear Loki to the people and his partner would have to face the same prejudice. He could understand wanting to protect the one you loved from that fate.

"I'm saddened that you think so little of me," Thor said and smiled a little. "I'm happy for you. Does he feel the same way?"

"I believe so, yes." The smile that accompanied those words was beautiful and it made Loki look like his younger self. For Thor it was like looking back in time to a simpler time, a happier time, a time he wished with all his heart could return. He knew that things could never go back to the way they had been, but perhaps things could turn for the better.

"Will you then tell me how all this madness came to be? After the battle you alluded that a promise you made to Harry lead you here."

"Yes. There were many reasons for my actions leading up to the events which would have been your coronation. I will admit that I was driven by ambition and jealousy. Odin always favoured you. He said that we were equal. Still actions weigh heavier than words. He told us that we were both born to be kings; still only one of us could take the throne. I should have seen it sooner. It was always going to be you."

"Loki-"

"I could have lived with that, had he not awoken the aspiration in my heart, had he not said that it was a possibility. Then there was you; rash, self-absorbed and arrogant. A great warrior does not make a great ruler. In your pride you would have laid Asgard in ruins. In the end the deciding factor was Harry."

Thor frowned.

"I see what you are thinking, and I will say right away that in no way did Harry encourage me to do anything. He will most probably give me the same treatment as that stupid green creature did once he finds out. It was I who hoped that if I were to ascend to the throne I could shape Asgard into a place where he would be accepted, where _we_ would be accepted. Ultimately all my plans were forgotten, overshadowed by the revelation of my parentage. I wasn't who I'd been led to believe. I was the son of monsters, not a prince of Asgard. I allowed the resentment I felt both for my birth father and the man I'd called father all my life consume me, leading us to the point where I let go of your hand. As I fell through the ether I remembered the promise I made to Harry. I had promised him that no matter what I would never abandon him, I would always return to him and I would never stop loving him."

"Oh, brother."

Silent tears were running down both their cheeks as they relived their memories, and neither of them bothered with trying to hide them. Loki had begun this confession with a hidden agenda, but even he, being the trickster and lie smith could not stop the emotions welling up as he thought about the man he had come to love.

"I fell through space for a long time. Time is a relative thing and I experienced an eternity of loneliness and self-hatred. I would have gone insane if I did not have my memories of Harry to remind me that there was still something worth living for. Out there I came in contact with an ancient entity of power. In my desperation to return to Midgard, to keep my promise to Harry I entered an agreement which I never should have. I was honour bound to do my part and I fear the consequences that will follow of my actions."

"What did you do, Loki?"

"You stopped me, so until they find another way to reach their goals, I will remain the only one in mortal peril. I will come back to Asgard with you without further struggle; I just ask that I be allowed to see Harry one more time."

"If he can come here I see no reason as to why not."

Loki smiled faintly. "Thank you."

.:oOo:.

"So what you are saying is that your brother, the asshole we had to bring down did all of this because he is in love with a British man?" Tony refrained from gaping at the large blond god, hiding his incredulity behind sarcasm.

"I suppose you could see it that way."

"And you want to bring this very powerful wizard, turned god, here to talk with Loki? How is that not a bad idea?"

"Loki always keeps his promises and he said that he would come peacefully were he allowed to see Harry."

"Oh, that's all good then. Great. Well I guess a prisoner is allowed a last supper, why not hide the perfect escape tool in the burrito?"

"Burrito?" Thor echoed.

"Never mind that," Bruce said. All of the Avengers were gathered to discuss the latest development. "I'm not too sure about this either. To present an ally to Loki like that does not seem like the best idea to me."

"There you go! Dr. Banner is with me," Tony said smugly.

"What do we know of this man?" Steve asked. "What kind of person is he?"

"Sir?" Jarvis, Tony's AI suddenly interrupted the conversation.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"You asked me to hack into the security systems, surveying Loki's cell. Less then one minute ago every defence was bypassed by a man. Right now he is talking with Loki."

"What? Bring it up on the big screen."

They all watched the image that came to life. It showed the small, austere room in which the trickster was kept. Loki was seated on a cot and next to him sat another man. At first glance he looked a lot like Loki. He had black hair, pale skin, high cheekbones and a straight aristocratic nose.

Then you went on to notice the differences. The other man had bright green eyes, was marginally shorter and his face was not as long as Loki's. He wore completely normal clothes, dressed in a faded pair of blue jeans and a dark red hoodie. He looked completely ordinary, except for his handsome features and muscled frame.

The Avengers watched with avid interest as the two appeared to be talking, but they couldn't hear a word.

"Jarvis, sound please."

"There appears to be a malfunction with the audio. All systems are go and we are recording, but there is nothing to record."

"Huh." Tony frowned.

"Magic," Natasha supplied.

"Yeah, I get that, thank you Ms. Rushman," Tony grumbled, choosing to use the fake name Natasha had given him when she pretended to be a simple assistant.

"So shall we suppose that this is Harry?" Steve asked.

"I think we can be pretty sure of that, Cap. Jarvis, what can you find on this guy?"

"Searching. Name; Harry James Potter. Born; July 31st 1980 in London, England, to parents James and Lily Potter. Records show that he lived with his maternal Aunt in Surry from age one to seventeen. His school records stop after his eleventh birth day. It says that he went to a boarding school in Scotland from then on. I can later find records of work with the British and American government, as well as the British army."

"Alright," Tony was trying no to sound impressed; he didn't want to like anyone who was involved with the mega douchebag, called Loki. "See what SHIELD's got on him."

"Harry James Potter, also known as the Boy-Who-Lived and The Chosen One."

"Chosen one? That's a though title to live up to," Bruce mumbled.

"He is the worlds now living most powerful wizard," the AI continued. "He defeated a dark wizard who was trying to take over the world and eradicate all of the none-magical population at age seventeen. Since then he has worked for the magical government, as both an ambassador and an agent. He is known to be honourable and brave. He is the second richest man in England, has the custody of his godson Ted Remus Lupin."

"Thank you, Jarvis," Tony mumbled and flicked through documents about Harry on a holographic pad. "Donations, fieldwork, oh and have you had a look at that!"

Tony flicked up an image on the big screen, embedding it so that they could still see the two dark-haired men conversing in the cell. The image showed Fury and Harry together on the bridge of the Helicarrier, shaking hands.

"So, what do you say to all that?" Tony said after a few moments of silence.

"It appears as if Mr. Potter won't be causing any trouble?"

* * *

**AN 23rd April 2013:**

I originally posted this as part of my story series _All About Harry_ back in the end of February (go ahead and read it, it has more Avengers stories). I've been thinking of posting this as a stand alone and after watching the new trailer for Thor: A Dark World, I just had to do it. My love for Loki just keeps on growing. Hope you liked it. Stay tuned for more.


	2. The Return

**An Earthborn Asgardian**

* * *

This is a Harry Potter, The Avengers Crossover by Kefalion aka. Frida. This is a story with focus on Harry Potter and Loki, but also on the relation between the wizards of earth and the Asgardians. This is Loki/Harry.

As you very well know I don't own the plot or the characters that you recognize.

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**Part 2: The Return**

_Words: 4 509_

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After Thor left, Loki remained in the cell, sitting unmoving on the cot. He stared straight ahead at the plain, gray wall, trying not to think. All he had to do now was to wait. He would give Thor some time to keep his end of the bargain. He knew the big lout would do so if at all possible; he was too filled with honour and belief in the good in people not to.

After their little conversation there was no way Thor wouldn't believe that he wished to redeem himself and that he could be redeemed. In some way it was also true. He hadn't wanted to do most of the things he had ended up doing, but the reasons behind the actions remained the same and meant that he couldn't truly regret the path he had chosen.

He still resented both the two men who in their own ways were supposed to be his fathers. He also strongly believed that the people of Midgard wanted to follow, perhaps not a man who openly told them that they were inferior, but nevertheless they looked for leader figures and more often than not failed to think for themselves and he was still willing to do anything for Harry.

Harry. If they tried to find information about him that would also play in Loki's favour. After all, Harry was to his people what these Avengers were to the rest of the earth. They would believe in Harry's honour and they would be right to do so.

Harry had morals, more so than he himself could ever dream of having and any trust placed in him would be treated with utter most care. The good thing, which he was slightly smug about, was that he had gained Harry's trust and loyalty first.

Loki allowed himself a miniscule smirk as he laced his fingers together in his lap. He knew it wouldn't be long before Harry found out what had been going on, with or without the involvement of his brother and his band of way ward heroes.

His plan to keep the wizard out of the picture would have bought him no more than a month and that time had passed now. Harry would be getting back into play and those who thought that they could stop him from doing what he wanted would be in for a surprise. His _deathly hallows_ had not been activated without reason.

.:oOo:.

It was an ordinary day at the British Ministry of Magic in London, England. Simply a Wednesday morning at the end of April with typical drizzly weather. A day when reports were to be filed, boring meetings were to be attended and cases about a newly discovered breed of magical creatures would be filed in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. All in all it wasn't a day with the promise of any particular excitement.

The witches and wizards of earth's magical communities had not been involved in the showdown that had happened in New York City just a week earlier or any of the events leading up to it. Though they took great pleasure in gossiping over disasters, they had a tendency of burying their heads in the sand and ignoring any situation that shook their idea of how things should be.

Wizarding Britain was proof of this in how they desperately had tried to cling on to the notion that You-Know-Who wasn't back during the Second War.

Ignoring disasters and focusing on the heroes; now that describes what the average wizard likes to do.

Knowing this, it is no wonder that there was a stir when one of the fireplaces in the Atrium flared up in green flames emitting one Harry Potter; an apparently very angry Harry Potter who looked like he came directly from a battlefield.

The man who a bit more than a decade earlier had defeated the most feared wizard to ever wreck havoc on the British Isles had grown to become an intimidating and admired figure and seeing him like this intrigued both one and two Ministry employees.

Tall and broad shouldered with almost unearthly grace the man was a sight to behold as he marched through the atrium towards the golden elevators without as much as casting a glance at the desk where visitors to the Ministry were required to register their wands.

It was common knowledge that Potter had declined the position as Head Auror in favour of jumping between different facilities, giving his services to the causes he deemed most urgent of his assistance, leaving the position as Head of the Auror Office to his good friend Ronald Weasly.

But no matter that Potter didn't hold an official position in the Ministry, he came and went as he pleased and no one in their right mind would think about stopping him, especially not as he stepped into the elevator, eyes blazing with magic, no longer obscured by glasses and torn, black robes billowing behind him.

The golden gates of the elevator slid shut and the silence which had held while Potter marched through the hall was broken as people started whispering in exited voices.

"Was that really..?" a young assistant from the Department of Magical Games and Sports asked without directing the question to anyone in particular. Potter did not often make public appearances, making the sight of him a treat even so many years after the end of the war.

"Yes. That was Harry Potter," an older man who was standing next to him said, nodding sagely. "I've shaken his hand, I have," he added, a smug smile on his face.

"Wow..!" the assistant said, getting ready to interrogate the man of the event, and many who were standing nearby listened closely.

In another corner of the atrium the conversation was rather different as a few Aurors were gathered.

"He looks like he's been through hell," one of them said, "reminds me of the Battle of Hogwarts."

"Yes," another nodded. "I heard a rumour that the Minister had requested something of him. That was about a month ago. It doesn't look like it went well."

"I've heard the same. Merlin, I wouldn't want to be Shacklebolt right now."

"Me neither, mate. Do you think we ought to tell Weasly?"

"Couldn't hurt. He's been talking about Potter a few times, apparently he haven't been able to talk to him. He will want to know that he's back."

.:oOo:.

Harry was not happy. Not. At. All.

He was tired, he was frustrated and he was quite frankly, pissed off. He stood in the elevator, tapping his foot impatiently. He was thankfully alone in the elevator so that he wouldn't have to keep up any appearances; he was free to show exactly how very irritated he was. Not that he cared much about coming off as nice in his present condition, but that's beside the point.

One other bonus of being alone was the fact that no one would stop the elevator allowing him to ride all the way up to level one and the Minister's office without pause. Harry's current mood was all Kingsley's fault and the man would soon know it.

The door slid open after the cool female voice announced that they had arrived at: "Level one, Minister for Magic and Support Staff."

Harry stepped out onto the thick purple carpet that covered the floors on this level and walked briskly down the corridor almost paving down Percy Weasly in the process.

"Harry!" the man, who had fulfilled his ambition and become Senior Undersecretary of the Minister, said indignantly.

"Sorry," Harry muttered, not in the mood for pleasantries, least of all with Percy Weasly, who although he had gotten his act together at the end of the war, never would stop being… well Percy. "I need to talk with Shacklebolt."

"The Minister is busy, you'll have to make an appointment and come back later," Percy said, pompous as always.

"Weasly," Harry growled. "I don't care what he is doing; he may be dying for all I care. I will talk with Shacklebolt and I will do it now. Get out of my way or I will make you." Harry pushed pasts the red headed, bespectacled man, barely remembering to mind his superhuman strength.

Percy remained standing there; gaping at Harry's back for a moment "You can't do that!"

"Watch me!" Harry resisted the urge to flip Percy off, ignoring the man as he began to shout again.

Harry threw up the door of mahogany wood with the small golden plaque, letting anyone with the ability to read know that this was the office of the Minister for Magic, slamming it shut behind him and adding a couple of locking- and privacy spells with a simple wave of his wand, the enchantments not taking any of his concentration from his true target.

"Shacklebolt!" he roared, and the large dark-skinned man sitting by a desk jumped slightly.

Before Harry's arrival Kinsley had been bored half to death, going over the meeting minuets from the most recent gathering of the International Confederation of Wizards. He wouldn't have bothered doing it if it wasn't for Percy Weasly, that man was a slave driver. However the Senior Undersecretary was also the one person who was responsible for making sure that nothing was over looked in all the administration the Minister was acquired to do. If Kingsley knew that he would be required to do so much paper work he might have thought twice about accepting the position as Minister.

Now though, taking in the sight of the man he had watched grow into one of the world's most powerful wizards in magical-, economical- and political-power, standing in front of him seething, knowing that he had played a part in making Harry like that, however unknowingly, he would gladly go back to being bored.

That he had been compromised was an embarrassment, and he had managed to keep it under wraps. No one knew about it, and he was dreading having to tell Harry.

"Harry," Kingsley said in his smooth, deep voice, not letting it show that he was slightly intimidated by the younger man. He was the Minister for Merlin's sake and he was a war hardened Auror, a man twenty five years his junior should not be frightening. "What can I do for you today?"

"You can tell me about the stroke of madness which must have come over you when you asked me to go to Borneo."

"Oh, that."

"Yes, that!" Without waiting for Kingsley to get a chance to explain himself, Harry began to rant. "You shipped me off to the Borneo, telling me that their Ministry has requested aid with a delicate situation and that I was the best man for the job. So I arrived and not a single person spoke English. After some failed attempts at sign language they preceded to carter me around the island in an attempt as far as I understood to find someone who could translate." Harry paused briefly and dragged his hands down his face. "Why hasn't someone invented a translation spell?"

"Well, the translators' guild has been working against that for years, you see they-"

"Kingsley! Not the point!" Harry breathed audible through his nose. "When they finally brought in a muggle to translate, it turned out that no one had any idea as to why I was there! But here is the best part, upon my arrival all magic on the island had started acting weird meaning that there was no possible way for me to use magical transportation to get away from there and now they did have a situation they needed help with!"

"I see. Were you able to help them?"

"No!"

"No?"

"An hour ago the fluctuations just stopped all magic working like normal again. But until then things only got worse, forcing us to live like muggles. Do you have any idea how dependant wizards are on magic?"

"Well…"

"They can't do a single thing without it! Nothing worked! They couldn't cook, they couldn't travel, they couldn't communicate. There was no chance to get a shower or any clean clothes. They couldn't enter their own bloody ministry!"

"Oh."

"Oh," Harry repeated through clenched teeth. "Oh! Is that all you have to say?" Harry was yelling again. He hadn't slept in nearly seventy-two hours, he was dirty, he was tired and he wanted answers.

"Harry, you might want to sit down for the next part." Kingsley spoke slowly, his voice still smooth and calm.

Harry's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but nevertheless he sat down in the chair on the opposite side of Kingsley's desk large, cherry wood desk. "Does this have anything to do with the magical charges we could feel just before I departed?"

"Ehum well-"

"Kingsley!" Harry's patience was at an end.

"Yes, I believe so." The dark-skinned man ran a hand over his bald head. "Harry, in all honesty, I don't remember asking you to go to Borneo."

"What?" Harry blinked uncomprehendingly.

"It wasn't until the next day when I looked through my files that I saw that I'd sent you there. By then it was too late to let you know that something was amiss. I tried to contact you and because of the disturbances in the island's magic it wasn't possible. Not even by owl post, as I am sure you've discovered yourself."

Harry nodded. "They didn't use owls on Borneo, but yes, I discovered the hard way that no messenger birds could leave the island. But I'm digressing." Harry adapted a thoughtful frown. "There is something seriously wrong here," he mused, ignoring his emotions in favour of the analytical thinking he had been taught to do during Auror training. "Are you saying that someone put an imperious on you?"

"No, it wasn't the Imperious Curse, though it was something similar to it."

"Do you remember at all who did it?"

Kingsley rose from behind the desk and began to pace through the office. "No."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "You haven't told anyone about this have you?"

The Minister slumped back into his chair. "No I haven't."

Harry frowned, tapping his fingers against the desk. "That's highly irresponsible of you, Minister. You should have told Ron at least. There's been a breach of security and our country could be in danger."

The dark-skinned man shook his head. "No I do not believe so."

"What?"

"Listen to me, Harry. I have a theory."

"Alright. I'll indulge you."

"Good, thank you. About the man who, ahem, attacked me. I only remember a few colours; black, green a bit of gold and glowing blue."

"Hmm. That is not very helpful, though I have a feeling it should mean something to me."

Kingsley jerked his head up from where he had been resting it in his hands. "That's what I was afraid of."

"It is?"

"Not exactly, but it's another point in favour of what I fear; another point in favour of my theory. This wasn't an attack on the British Ministry. This breach of security was only in the purpose of getting you away."

"You believe that it was all about me? Really, Kingsley?" The young wizard scowled.

"You underestimate your own importance. I believe you always have. I have come to realize that dark-wizards reason in a certain way when it comes to you. They see you as a threat. You are admittedly a front figure and your reputation precedes you wherever you go. When a wizard is planning something it is no wonder that they would want you gone, and it seems however was behind this succeeded in that endeavour."

Harry was silent for a moment, and then he nodded. "Hearing this from you, I can only believe the same. But there is something that you are not telling me. What were those energy charges? Why did they want me gone?" Harry breathed in. "What happened while I was gone?"

"An alien invasion?"

Harry looked sternly at the Minister. "Are you asking or telling me?"

"Telling you?"

Harry sighed. "Damn it, Shacklebolt! Whatever happened, happened. Just tell me all ready!"

"Sorry. It has been a bit of a mess, although only the American Ministry got involved at all, besides my little stint which was probably orchestrated by the man who led the invasion." Kingsley moved a stack of paper to the side, stalling. "You know about the Tesseract, correct?"

"Yes." Harry nodded.

"Then you know that the American Ministry decided to leave it in the hands of an organization called SHIELD, contending to have spies in place. A little less than a month ago the Tesseract was activated and through a portal a man appeared. With the help of a sceptre connected to the Tesseract he took control of several agents and scientists. It works similarly to the Imperious Curse."

"You believe he was the one who made you send me away?"

"Yes, I do."

"And do the colours match?"

Kingsley scratched his chin, thinking back to the day when he had ordered Harry to Borneo. "Now that you mention it, yes they do. The man dresses in black, green and gold and the sceptre, like the Tesseract has a blue glow."

"Hmm. Is the situation resolved? Has the man been apprehended?"

"Yes."

"Good, I guess." Harry slumped in the chair, his energy drained. If the situation was under control he could afford to relax. He really needed sleep, a change of clothes a shower and something to eat, preferably something English. Bangers and mash for example would be lovely. No more strange fish or exotic fruits for him, thank you very much.

Kingsley recognizing that the risk of Harry cursing him had been lowered relaxed as well. "If you allow me to say so, you look like hell Harry, you should get some sleep. Get back here tomorrow and we'll talk. I'll have more information for you then."

"Yeah, I suppose that sounds like a good idea. Sorry for barging in here like that. It's just; these last few weeks haven't been all that great for me."

"I understand and I can't blame you. I'm just glad you didn't make any more use of your wand besides the initial locking cusses."

Harry chuckled weakly. "Am I really that bad?"

"It is not for no reason that Loki wanted you out of the way during the invasion."

Harry froze. His eyes were open wide. "What did you just say?" he asked breathlessly.

"That it's not without reason that evil magic wielders prefer if you are not around to-"

"No not that! What was the name you said?"

Kingsley frowned, Harry appeared to know something. "Loki," he repeated, taking care to pronounce the name.

"Oh, Merlin." Harry had gone white as a sheet and looked about ready to pass out, his breathing was shallow and he was gripping the edge of Kingsley's desk hard enough for his knuckles to look like they were about to cut through his skin. "No," he whispered.

"Harry?" the Minister said Harry's name gently. The man must indeed know something.

"Just give me a moment, please," Harry said weakly.

Kingsley nodded although the other wizard couldn't see him as his eyes were closed. The Minister could recognize that Harry was using some form of meditation to centre himself.

Right now he wished he knew more about the Asgardians and what had happened both in New Mexico the previous year as well as last week in New York. Perhaps he should have a talk with the American Minister, Parson was a reasonable woman. He could ask to see their reports on the matter. If Harry was involved it was likely to end up concerning the whole of Britain in one way or another.

Harry opened his eyes again. He looked calmer, some colour had returned to his face. "Loki as in the Norse God of Mischief and Magic?" He asked, there was a sharp edge to his voice, which Kingsley couldn't place.

"Yes."

"Loki as in son of Odin, brother of Thor, Prince of Asgard one of the Nine Realms?"

"Yes. You seem surprisingly well informed. How is it you know all this?"

"Do you remember that I took several extended periods of time off duty following graduation from the Auror Academy?"

"I do."

Harry had been behaving a bit strangely at times for several years after the war. That was what everyone thought was the cause. No one questioned it. He was doing as expected, becoming an Auror and later engaging in the protection against threats to the wizarding world on an international level. No one cared that he took time to himself every so often. He deserved it after all.

"I suppose the cat is out of the bag now so I might as well tell you, you might end up being the one who has to talk to media and so on."

"The cat?"

"Muggle expression. How do I say this?" Harry moved a hand through his hair, leaving the black mop even messier than it had already been and he had his head lowered, glancing down at his lap. "Oh, Loki, what have you done?" Harry muttered and Kingsley was not sure if he was supposed to hear it. Harry looked up and spoke in a louder voice. "How much do you know about the Deathly Hallows?"

Kingsley frowned. "They are a legend, a bedtime story. Beadle the Bard's tale about the three brothers featured them, if I remember correctly."

"All you've said is true, but that's not all. It's more than a legend. The items are real."

Now he gasped. "Are you seriously saying that Death appeared on a river bank as three wizards used magic to escape death?"

Harry smiled, although it was a weak smile. "No. That part, the origin of the Hallows is not true and neither does a person who acquires all three Hallows become the Master of Death." Harry moved his fingers absentmindedly, as if he was rotating a ring on one of his fingers. Kingsley couldn't see anything there though. "Something quite different happened."

"Happened?" Kingsley enquired, picking up on the small word.

"Yes. During the war, all three items; the wand, the resurrection stone and the Invisibility Cloak ended up in my possession."

"Merlin, it just had to be you, didn't it?"

Harry shrugged as if to say, I suppose so. "I did not want them. I left the stone in the Forbidden Forest and I placed the wand someplace safe, but that didn't matter. They had acknowledged me as their owner, a message was sent to their creator and at the same time I began to change."

Kingsley opened his mouth to ask more questions when they were interrupted by the door slamming open.

"Auror Weasly," the Minister said disapprovingly when he saw the tall redheaded man in the doorway, however he was ignored.

"Harry! You're back! I really need to talk to you. I've been trying to reach you but it's been bloody impossible. Loki, your-"

"Ron!" Harry interrupted the Head Auror's rambling, afraid that he'd say too much as he let his mouth go.

Ron's ears turned slightly red, and he got an abashed expression. "Oops, sorry."

"Yeah, well, Kingsley's already dropped the bomb so to speak. I've heard about the alien invasion."

"Oh, well then I- Did I interrupt something? Andrew and Lament told me that you were back and I thought that you'd want to know, but if Kingsley's already filled you in, then I guess I should go back and- You come talk to me once you're done here, 'kay? Sorry for interrupting, Minister Shacklebolt."

"I'll forgive you this time, Ron. I've forgiven a lot when Harry is concerned and I know I'll continue to do so."

"Great! Well then, I'll just go now. Sorry. Ehem. So sorry." Ron backed out of the office, spewing excuses all the way. When he shut the door the silence in the room grew oppressive.

Kingsley cleared his throat and moved around in his chair a bit. "He's been worried about you. It took me a lot off effort to keep quite about what had happened. I was ready to tell him if the situation changed, but I know you can take care of yourself and as far as I could tell there would be no use to make the situation worse by worrying your friends."

Harry looked disapprovingly at the minister. "I am too tired to give you a hard time about this, but I don't like it, Kingsley. You should have told them. Something could have been very wrong."

"Yes, I can see that now. Before though, I felt so certain that keeping it to myself was the best idea. I can't see why."

Harry hummed, thinking. "It's Loki's doing," he said after a few moments. "He placed a sort of compulsion on you. Think of it as a form of the Confounds Charm. It was a spell making you think that you should not tell anyone about what had happened."

"How do you know this?"

The younger wizard shook his head. "I- He did want me away, but you don't need to worry about the community's safety. I-" Harry paused, his hands finding their way into his hair again. "Loki was the one who created the Hallows."

These words made Kingsley sit up strait in his chair, at attention. "What?"

"I know Loki. After I began to change he came and found me. He told me what was happening. He taught me how to control the powers I kept evolving. He was a good friend to me. Ron knows of him of course, so does Hermione. None of us has heard from him about a year though. Last I met him he was upset. I don't know what happened and hearing that he's led an invasion. I don't know what to think." Harry fell silent once more.

"This changes things. You knowing Loki makes things more complicated. You will involve yourself I trust?"

"Yes. I need to see him. If nothing else I need an explanation for his absence. I also believe that I could be able to make him speak. We were… close one might say. I'll talk with Ron, see what he knows and… you said SHIELD was the ones running the operation?"

Kingsley nodded.

"I'll get in contact with Director Fury then. If there's anything you need just let me know. For now I think I'll head home and sleep for thirty-six hours or so. I'll keep the Floo open if there is an emergency." With those words Harry stood and offered his hand. Kingsley took it, shaking it firmly.

"I'll see you soon, Minister."

"I'll hold you to that, Mr. Potter."

Harry left and Kingsley was left alone to attend to the paper work again.

He sighed deeply. "I should just learn to appreciate boring stuff," he muttered and picked up the paper at the top of the pile.

* * *

**AN 23rd June 2013:**

Thank you everyone who has in some way shown their appreciation of this story. I liked it a lot myself and when I got confirmation that I was on to something I had to continue it.

I did a lot of thinking before I continued to write; trying to better understand the back-story and the plot as well as how to best show it to you. I think I've figured out a decent way. My only problem is that I tend to fill out with a lot of things before we get down to business, hence why there isn't much going on in this chapter. But I hope you enjoyed it anyway. We do get a glimpse of what Harry's been up to and why he wasn't involved with the Avengers from the start.

Stay tuned. There will be more to come. I think there will be somewhere around 5-9 parts.


	3. The Reunion

**An Earthborn Asgardian**

* * *

This is a Harry Potter, The Avengers Crossover by Kefalion aka. Frida. This is a story with focus on Harry Potter and Loki, but also on the relation between the wizards of earth and the Asgardians. This is Loki/Harry.

As you very well know I don't own the plot or the characters that you recognize.

* * *

**Part 3: The Reunion**

_Words: 2 477_

* * *

A Thursday in May, a normal day to most people, a day at the end of school term, a day when you could look forward to your summer leave, or for some a day when you worked to plant the fields in preparation of the growing season.

Not that it mattered to the people employed at SHIELD. What time of year it was had no importance, not beyond what certain days meant to the rest of the populace in any case.

When you were an employment of one of the widest reaching federal organizations in the USA you could forget about holidays tied to dates, summer vacation and the whole dream about a steady life with a wife, kids, dog and house. You got time off when there was little happening, which incidentally was never, but the people working for SHIELD knew this, and they were prepared to make sacrifices, otherwise they wouldn't be there.

Director Nicholas Fury was aboard the Helicarrier, seeing to the repairs and retrofits that were being made, his mere presence making people work more effectively and he could see over any administrative work from here as well as from a land bound office, so it was a win, win situation.

He'd heard that Loki had once more tried to escape earlier that day and it bothered him. He didn't understand why the self-acclaimed god would try to do it when it had been proven again and again that it was no use.

Fury didn't like not knowing things. He didn't like not knowing what Loki had planned. It made him anxious. He didn't like unpredictability and Loki was unpredictable. He had some layers that were easy to interpret. The standard wanting power and an audience as Stark had pointed out, but under that they did not understand his motives.

"Director?"

"What is it, Agent Hill?"

"You have a call. Harry Potter."

"Patch it to my come."

Fury walked into a side office where he could speak privately with the man. He had worked with Potter a few times. He too was unpredictable, and much too powerful to make Fury feel comfortable. It was like dealing with a worse version of Stark, mixed with common sense, and the authority of a president, making it all that much harder to know what would happen next. But for all that Potter was as skilled as his top agents, had more political clout than he himself had, and nearly as much money as Stark he was just human, and that was a comfort.

"Fury," he answered gruffly.

"Hello, Director. I've heard that you've had a tough month."

"Yes." He refrained from saying anything like, _what do you have to do with it?_ And _why don't you have anything to do with it? We could have used some assistance. _

"This is a mere call of courtesy, Director. I am on my way to see Loki and I thought you'd want to know."

"Excuse me?"

"Is he in the holding cells in New York, aboard the Helicarrier or elsewhere?"

"Potter," Fury growled, "what do you think you're doing?"

"Either, I'm fixing a mess or making one, don't know which yet."

"That's not very helpful."

"I know, but it's the way it is. Now will you give me the information I want or do I have to get someone to hack into your systems?"

"New York," the Director bit out, knowing that Potter could and would hack into their systems.

"Thank you. I'll talk more to your later." The line went dead.

"Damn it," he muttered, walking out on the bridge again. "Hill, I need to get to NY, five minutes ago."

"Yes, sir. A jet is being prepared for you, the flight path confirmed; you can leave in two minutes."

.:oOo:.

Loki didn't have to wait long for Harry to show up. Only hours after he had spoken with Thor the silence in the cell was broken as a man appeared with a small crack.

Loki didn't bother to berate Harry for using apparition when he could have travelled much smoother and arriving completely silent with a technique he has shown him years before as he usually did, he was too busy taking in the man with hungry eyes. It had been far too long since he last saw _his _Harry, and he was searching for anything that had changed about him.

There weren't many changes to be found. This was only to be expected with how slowly the wizard was aging since becoming an Asgardian. The hair was the same as always, inky black and stubbornly sticking up at strange angles, most evidently at the back of his head. Green eyes clear, scar clear on his brow and frame tall. Sadly he was dressed in a baggy red hoodie obscuring his finely toned torso, but that was just another thing that hadn't changed about Harry. The only change Loki could see was a couple of new wrinkles on his forehead, likely put there because of stress and worry, because of him.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Harry said in a menacing whisper, stalking closer, hand held out gripping his wand. He flicked the tool lazily in the direction of the surveillance system and Loki knew that he had in some manner made it dysfunctional, rendering their conversation at the very least partly private.

"Pardon?" he said innocently, smiling in a way that would seem honest if you didn't know Loki. Harry though could see the wicked glint in the trickster's eyes and he wasn't fooled.

"Do not play games with me! You! You!" He spluttered, while Loki just watched him with calmly, enjoying the show. "You made sure that I was on the other side of the planet so that I wouldn't interfere with your so called plan to take over my home world!"

"I did," Loki admitted without a hint of remorse.

Harry was seething. "May I ask why?"

"You are welcome to do so." Loki grinned, knowing that he was testing the wizard's patience and enjoy it ever so much.

"If there ever was a time for being serious, it is now. What happened? Why have you been gone? I-I…" though he still looked angry, Harry's expression had gone soft and he sat down next to Loki on the cot, their sides almost touching. "I missed you so much. I felt lost and I…"

"Hey!" Loki reached out and touched Harry's cheek, enjoying the feeling of warm skin under the pad of his thumb. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave you. Things happened and I. I made some bad decisions."

"I was worried about you. Can you understand that? Last we spoke you were so upset. I hardly recognized you. Then I heard about something going on in New Mexico, your brother was there, wasn't he?"

"Thor," Loki snorted, a flash of anger flickering in his eyes. "He…" the God of Mischief bit down on whatever words he had planned to say, shaking his head a little. "It doesn't matter now."

"I don't believe that. I think it matters. I think it's a very central part of the story, but explanations can wait." He smiled wistfully. "I thought that I would demand to know everything as soon as I saw you. I had planned to yell at you until you told me all you knew. I imagined slapping some sense into you. But I think you're already bruised enough and I find that now that I'm here with you it can wait. I'm just glad to see you again."

Harry wrapped his arms around Loki and buried his nose in his long hair, breathing in the familiar scent of frost and magic, feeling all the anxiety that had built over the last year leaving him as he exhaled. Loki answered to the embrace, pulling Harry closer.

"I've missed you too."

"If it had gone much longer you would have driven me to call for Heimdall," Harry murmured.

The words made Loki stiffen and push Harry away, giving him an angry look. "You wouldn't!" he growled, teeth bared in a snarl. "I've done everything so that you could grow into yourself without their interference and you would willingly draw their attention!"

"It was no longer about me! It was about you, and I would have done anything for you!"

"Would have?" Loki caught the passed tense.

"Yes," Harry said so low that it was barely said at all.

"And now?"

"I don't know. It's been a year and you- you tried to enslave mankind!"

"I had my reasons," Loki said in a resigned way.

"Then why?"

"I thought explanations could wait?" Loki gave a weak version of his usual smirk.

"Try again," the wizard said unfazed.

"I did it because of you."

"What!" Harry jumped up, starring wide eyed, his wand once more trained on the trickster. "You're lying! You cannot possibly blame this on me! I will not stand for it."

"So you cannot take the truth?" Loki sneered. "Like you couldn't take the truth the first time we met? Poor little Harry, it's always you isn't it? It's always you who are responsible for the deaths of others in one way or another and then you feel the need to step up and be the hero, or maybe the martyr."

Harry could only stare, breathing hard and feeling like he'd been punched in the stomach, getting the wind knocked out of him. He knew Loki could be cruel, but he hadn't expected it. Not now. Not to him. Not after what they shared. "You've changed," he said coldly, voice void of emotion.

"Yes. You do change when you learn that you are not the person you always thought you were. You change when you are cast out and when you are forced to accept allies you would never have considered unless you were truly desperate in your struggle to come home again." Loki was breathing hard as well, had risen to his feet, and he was looming over Harry, using the negligible height difference to his advantage.

"What? Loki?"

"I am no Odinson," he murmured, voice less harsh again. "I am the monster this world now perceives me as."

Harry crossed his arms, gazing mutely at the other man.

"I'm a Frost Giant, Harry. I was so small at birth that my true father didn't want me. I was a disgrace to his linage and he left me for death. And then the Allfather came along, victorious in the battle against the monsters of the ice. Filled to the brim with self-righteousness and pity disguised as mercy he took me in, making me believe that I was a price who one day could ascend to the throne." He scoffed. "What mockery! I would never be allowed onto the throne of Asgard! No Frost Giant would ever be allowed in a place of power in the realm of gods, and the Jotuns had already shunned me, so the Allfather's hope for an alliance was the foolish dream of a feeble, old man. I'm not Loki Odinson, not Loki Laufeyson. I'm Loki No-One's-Son, a monster, who no one could ever love. So why not behave like it?"

Harry moved in a flash.

.:oOo:.

"Guys look!" It had been a few minutes and with the call made by Clint everyone looked back at the screen. They had looked away feeling uneasy as the pair embraced, and choosing to give them some privacy, but it was mostly to spare their own sense of sanity, or that was what Tony had said.

Both men had been standing, something having disturbed what had appeared to be a peaceful reunion and as Clint called for their attention the man in the red hoodie had moved like flash, punched Loki in the nose.

The trickster's eyes filled with tears and he grabbed at the appendage, blinking at the other man, completely stunned. The force of the blow had forced him to sit back down again.

"Wow, I'm starting to like this guy," Tony said, smiling widely at Loki's pain. "Damn, I wish we had sound! This must have been good! I can practically imagine the crunch…"

Loki lowered his hands and they could see that his nose was broken, the bridge had gone crocked and it was oozing blood down his chin.

"He truly is one of my people," Thor mused, not appearing all that concerned about his brother's health. "The force needed to hurt us is not possessed by common mortals."

"What does that mean?" Natasha asked. "That he is an Asgardian."

"I am not certain," Thor answered meeting her eye. "I have never encountered anything like it. If what Loki told me was true that is. It has happened that my people have come to Midgard and lived here, much like I was forced to do a year ago. We would then immerse ourselves into your people, able to go unnoticed. Harry could be a man who choose to do that, but if he was once human and my brother reawakened some long slumbering heritage I do not know what it will mean. I only know that I will have to bring him with us."

"You'll take him with you?" Bruce asked.

"It is necessary. My father must be informed, and he must be evaluated."

"But he isn't a criminal is he?" Steve asked. "From what we've seen in the files Stark brought up the man is like us, a person who protects people. It wouldn't be just to bring him against his will to stand trial for something he isn't responsible for."

"Be that as it may, he is a witness, he is close to my brother and now that he has become one of us he is bound by our laws. He will come."

.:oOo:.

"Was that necessary?" Loki asked a few moments later, his voice slightly muffled because of the blood, trickling from his nose. "What did I do to warrant that?"

"You were being an idiot, wallowing in self-pity and I had enough of it." Harry flicked his wand, making an angry jab and Loki's nose snapped back into place. He jabbed again, and the blood cleared away. "You stupid, stupid-" Harry walked closer and sat down next to him. "You are not a monster. Whatever it is that you have done, you are not a monster, and whatever it is you have done I still-" Harry went silence. He wasn't good at emotional stuff. He gazed into Loki's eyes, seeing so much pain and hatred there. He wanted it gone. "I love you."

Loki blinked. "You do? Even if..?"

"Yes. My mind is telling me that I shouldn't forgive you. My heart has known enough pain and only recognizes the love now. I love you_. You, _not your name or your actions. You."

* * *

**AN 7th July 2013:**

There we have part 3. I liked it. Mhmm. Even if it was shorter than the previous two. It was fun writing Harry and Loki together, I don't know if they acted strange, but I think it would be rather tense and as a lot of emotions of different kind were at work it wouldn't be all lovidovi. I hope you enjoyed it too and that you'll tune into the next part.

Oh and thanks to Kai19 for letting me use the line you provided in your review.


	4. The Reconciliation

**An Earthborn Asgardian**

* * *

This is a Harry Potter, The Avengers Crossover by Kefalion aka. Frida. This is a story with focus on Harry Potter and Loki, but also on the relation between the wizards of earth and the Asgardians. This is Loki/Harry.

As you very well know I don't own the plot or the characters that you recognize.

* * *

**Part 4: The Reconciliation**

_Words: 5 372_

* * *

"I-", Loki mumbled. His face was void of emotion as was his voice. The anger was gone, but no other feelings had taken its place. "I don't know what to say."

"Please say you say you feel same, or I will walk out that door, and I swear you'll never see me again."

"You cannot do that," Loki said coldly, though a possible hint of fear appeared in his eyes. "You'd be alone, living, while all the people you care about die one by one, just as you fear. You have yet to master your powers. You need me."

Harry grimaced. "I do," he admitted, while he didn't like the underhand tactic Loki was using to make him say it, it was only the truth, "but not because of that. If not yet, then soon your brother will know of me. "

"He already does," Loki confirmed, his lips twitching as Harry called Thor his brother. "What does it matter?"

"That settles that. Don't you see? I do not need you for practicalities any more. Thins have changed. My existence is no longer a secret. Another Asgardian could just as easily tutor me and tell me what I need to know about what I have become." He could see that Loki was about to protest. "You are not the only citizen of Asgard to have magic, though you may be one of the most powerful ones, there is Odin for one, something you fail to admit most of the time.

Loki sneered.

"But I do need you because I care about you. I _want_ you in my life, though you should know that I will walk away, if you no longer wish for me to be a part of _your_ life."

Loki rose and went over to Harry, taking the wizard's hands into his own marginally larger ones, letting his thumbs move over the tanned skin, it had taken on a brown colour, evidence that he had sent time in the country Loki had exiled him to. He draw in a deep breath and looked into the other man's eyes, knowing that he had to say the right things if he didn't want to loose Harry forever.

"I want you, just as much as before," he said earnestly, his words chosen carefully as they had more than one meaning and he spoke them softly with some underlying heat, though not to pronounced, he didn't want Harry to think that all he wanted was his body, but enough to know that the spark of desire remained. "I promised you that I would never leave, that also means that I will never ask you to go. I want you by my side."

"Really?" There was a hint of a smile playing at Harry's lips.

"Yes." Loki considered the battle won. The war however was undetermined.

The smile twisting up the corners of Harry's mouth slipped away. "Then would you please explain the madness that made you attack my home world? You say you did it because of me."

"Yes," Loki winced just a little, feeling bad about the hurt he could see in Harry, and understanding that their reconciliation wasn't complete. "It was not my intention to hurt you earlier."

Harry glared, drawing his hands free, with a forceful jerk, and crossing his arms across his chest again so that they would be out of reach. "Yes it was," he said in what was almost a hiss. "You knew exactly what to say to hurt me. You know me well enough to play my fears and doubts and if you hadn't wanted to hurt me you wouldn't have."

"Fine. I did intentionally hurt you," the trickster admitted. He closed his eyes, showing his vulnerability and gathering his courage. "You must understand Harry; I am not at my best. You may think that I was wallowing in self pity…"

"You were," Harry muttered and Loki ignored him.

"…but", he continued in a louder voice, "what happened, what I learned was important to me and…"

"You are not over it."

"There is more to it, but essentially, yes. I still feel so much anger and resentment; it is filling me up, admittedly clouding my judgement. What Odin has done is not right. I may not have acted wisely either, but this, all of this has its source in the Allfather."

"I'm glad you're not blaming me anymore," the wizard said dryly, not impressed. "Will you not take responsibility for your actions?"

"I am responsible, but you need to know why I have acted the way I have. You know what I think of Thor."

"I do. We had some disagreements about it. I think you insulted many of the values I stand for in the process."

Loki snorted. "Recklessness and thinking without acting is not something to be proud of. Bravery is nothing unless you also possess a clear mind and analytic abilities. You must know when to fight and when to employ other methods."

"There you go again."

"Harry, you grew up. You are not the School House you were placed in at age eleven. You may still act without thinking at times, but you have learned the value of patience. I know you have, and you had begun to culture the ability long before you met me. It was not carless courage that allowed you to gather Voldemort's horcruxes."

"Fine. The conclusion is that you claim that Thor didn't know."

"He did not and he proved it with undisputable clarity once I presented him with a situation which forced him to act, letting his true character come forth. He was sorely lacking, bringing down war on Asgard when it was not needed and Odin himself saw that his oldest son, his pride and joy, was not fit to be King. Thor was banished, leading to the events of New Mexico that you brought up earlier."

"You wanted the throne for yourself," Harry said accusingly. "Don't play all noble with me. You constructed a situation in which you knew how your brother would act and you knew it would put him in a bad light. If I know you right, you goaded him along the way, making it look as if you were trying to hold him back."

Loki laughed, it was a humourless sound. "It worked didn't it? And yes I desired the throne."

"Why? Did you want power? Did you want to lord over the people who all your life has seen you as lesser."

"In part," the god admitted, it had been a bonus having the Warriors Three bend knee at his feet as he sat upon the throne as their King, "but the truth comes down to you once more. Don't look at me like that."

Harry's glare had turned acid, his eye colour enhancing the impression. "How am I to look then? You are in a way making me responsible for a coup to the Asgardian throne and you've put blame on me for an invasion of earth!"

"I know how it must sound, if you would only allow me to continue."

"Fine. Continue then."

"What I am trying to say is that you resonate in everything I do. It is all done with you in mind, wanting to create a future for the two of us. I believe that the end justifies the means and I had no problem using methods I knew you wouldn't condone of as long as it gave me the desired result."

"It is not right."

"That is debatable."

"Your actions brought war upon your realm!"

"Thor did it all by himself, with his arrogance and eagerness for battle. My actions only made sure that it happened earlier than it otherwise would have and before he was granted the crown and undue power. I have told you how the people of Asgard view relationships such as ours. They think it a lower class of love. It is not forbidden, but it might as well have been. It is not looked upon with kind eyes. They would never give us respect."

"We don't need to live there, it is not necessary."

"Oh, but it is. You may not see it now, you are young still, but I have said so before and I will have to say it again so that you understand. A day will come when everyone you know and love here on Midgard has passed on and you _need_ friends. I can give you much, but you would never be truly happy if it was just you and I together for the long time an Asgardian life is."

Harry tried to say something, but Loki stopped him.

"You would have tried for me, I know that, but my goal isn't just exiting. My goal is to make you happy in the long run. You would never be truly happy living in some remote corner of the universe with me, and the only friends you could hope to make would be Asgardians; there would be little point in befriending a short lived species such as the people on Midgard. Some of them may not care about two men loving each other, but others would mock and taunt you and I know that you, even if you wish it weren't so you care about what other people think and you need friends and the respect of others, if not their liking. I was trying to make sure power didn't end up in my foolish _brother_'s hands and by doing so I hoped to gain the influence needed to change the people's opinion on the matter."

Harry was silent for a moment, thinking through what Loki had just said. He could understand it and it was true that isolation wasn't a way of life he would willingly choose, was there an other option. He could also imagine what he would feel when Ron and Hermione inevitable passed on. He wouldn't have the strength to make knew friends knowing that he would soon see them pass on as well.

"I concede your point," he said, "as long as I do not have to agree with your methods and you give me a promise of not doing something like that again."

Loki stayed silent.

Harry closed his eyes, resigned. "You won't do it."

"No, I will not. It would tie me down and force me to do things I am not prepared to. If keeping you safe and happy means several realms have to burn, I will do it."

Harry was a little scared by that announcement. Some may find it romantic if the person of their affection said that they would do anything for you, but it lost much of it appeal when it was a truth that may become reality.

"If you did that I could never be happy," he said in a tone that denied any argument. "I'd have to live with those deaths on my conscious, don't you understand it? I sacrificed myself for a world full of people who didn't hesitate to put all there hope on the shoulders of an adolescent boy, a world that is fickle with who they shun and who they hail. I did it because it was the right thing to do. I could never condone death if it was the price for my life or happiness, I'd rather be the one to die."

Loki's features had taken on a disgruntled look. "I think I can see that this is something you would do," he granted, "though the same could never apply to me. I am a selfish creature of nature. You are one of the few things I care about. The only one I would lay down my life for."

"Don't."

"What?"

"Don't you dare do that. Ever."

Loki didn't understand what the wizard was saying.

"I've had enough people sacrifice themselves for me," Harry clarified talking fast. "If you did die to save me, it would be as good as sentencing me to death anyway. I cannot carry another debt like that."

"Who is being selfish now, Mr. Saviour?"

"So what?" Harry said defensively.

"I don't mind. No, no, I find that I like that you can be selfish even if it's just a matter such as this."

"That's not all."

"I just enjoy being able to prove a point."

Harry snorted out a small laugh. "That I believe."

"Martyrs in the end I believe are selfish. They cannot live with the knowledge that they have not given their all, they would go under from the guilt. So in the end they sacrifice themselves for their own purpose."

Harry sighed, exasperated. He felt glad that he hadn't rushed to the US as soon as he learned that Loki was there. He wouldn't have been bale to do this if he hadn't gotten some sleep. "You just took away everything that was romantic about your statement that you would lay down your life for me."

Loki smirked. "I told you; I am a selfish man."

"Well, I am not having the discussion about altruism not existing."

"That's because you know you will lose. You just confessed that your own sacrifice was made with selfish intentions."

"We're not talking about it."

Loki inclined his head, giving Harry this small boon. "As you wish."

"Tell me what happened next. Thor was banished for behaving foolhardy."

"Correct. Meanwhile I had discovered that something was wrong with me. In Jotunheim I touched the skin of one of the Frost Giants, a fate that would lead to the death of an Asgardian, but when I touched the warrior my true appearance was revealed, my skin turned blue same as theirs. I suspected then what I was and it did not take much to confirm it."

"What does it matter?" Harry was honestly confused. Loki was still who he had always been, it didn't matter who his parents had been.

"You do not understand. You have not grown up hearing the horror stories told to children before they go to sleep, the exciting and scary tales of the monsters of Jotunheim. The barbaric Frost Giants who would never hesitate to bring down Asgard, and as it turned out I was one of them. Imagine if you had found out that you were Voldemort's son."

Harry shuddered unwillingly. "Yeah, I see your point." He nodded. "I would have begun to doubt myself and everything that had ever happened in my life.

"That was how it was. I didn't know anymore. Was I a monster? Was that why I could never fit in? Could the others somehow tell? It would explain everything. It became obvious why I had always been treated differently by my parents, though I am man enough to say that they tried, but it was not enough, just like I was not. It would never matter how much I tried to be the better son, how much I tried to fit in, how much I tried to make everyone proud. I would never be good enough because of whom I was born to." Loki clenched his fists, suppressing the urge to slam his hand into the wall. "You cannot imagine how angry I was."

"I noticed, you know," Harry murmured. "I tried to talk to you the last time you came to see me, but you weren't receptive to me."

"No I was not. I was certain that if you learned the truth you would not want anything to do with me. I felt that I had to prove myself to you as well and becoming the King of Asgard seemed the way to do it."

"That was foolish of you. You know I don't care for power."

"I do know that and it should have been apparent to me even then."

"So you are different. That is not necessarily a bad thing. You wouldn't want me to be like my cousin would you? And you wouldn't want to be a copy of Thor."

Loki laughed at the image provided. "No I would not like that. Nevertheless I was questioning everything. I did not know how to proceed. I needed to clear my head. I needed answers and guidance." He paused walking around the room, not that he needed more than a few steps to do so.

"The Allfather found me when I had gone to the vault where the Casket of Ancient Winters was kept. As an artefact from Jotunheim it had the ability to reveal my true nature. I confronted him. He didn't give me any satisfying answers. Just some drivel about how I had been an innocent child and how I was his son."

"That doesn't sound so bad. He loved you."

Loki sneered and didn't honour Harry's statement with a reply. "It did not satisfy me," he continued as if the other man had never interrupted. "There had to be more. I got him to confess that he had wanted to use me to negotiate peace between the two realms, I was to be a bargaining tool, and now he had come to realize that it would never be. He did not say it, but it was not necessary, I could read all I needed in his silence; I was not needed anymore. Before I could make him confess, before he could say any more to either clear himself or condom him in my eyes forever he fell into the Odin sleep. With the events that had passed he had postponed it for to long and as a result he had grown weak. I never got the answers I wanted, that I _needed._ Thor was gone and Mother-"

Harry gave him a quizzical look at the title.

"I do not blame her same as I do Thor and Odin. I am angry with her for always siding with _Him_, but in truth she has been kind to me and…" he sighed.

"It's okay to care about her. It is okay to love a person even if they have wronged you, love does not work like that; which you should be thankful for."

"You are right, of course." He nodded, acknowledging that Harry was referring to himself and that if loved dissolved at one wrong action he would not bother with Loki anymore.

"What I was about to say was that it was uncertain weather the Allfather would wake up again or not. Mother was devastated and she was not fit to take Odin's place as regent and it was up to me to take charge. I had to handle the situation left to me by Thor. There was war on the horizon and I did the only thing I could think of to stop it."

Harry was recognizing that this was hard for Loki to speak of it. He uncrossed his arms and placed a hand on the other man's shoulder, leading him back to the cot and coxing him to sit down. "Continue whenever you're ready," he said gently.

He was still angry with Loki, there was no denying it, but behind all the fury that the trickster held he could see so much confusion and hurt. He decided that he would cut Loki some slack. He wouldn't tolerate anything violent, but he would be more forbearing and he would keep his own temper at bay as best he could.

What he had said was true. He still loved Loki and he had a feeling that he would never be able to stop, which was why he grew scared when he spoke both about waging war on other realms and laying down his life for Harry, if the man he loved did either of those things it would break him.

It was no wonder that he loved Loki either. The man had come to him in a time of his life when he was vulnerable and confused, giving him guidance and compassion which had bloomed into something more. He couldn't regret it. The years that had passed since their meeting had been some of the best in his life and he thought that the same applied for the Asgardian. They had found something profound in each other, understanding, acceptance and later love.

Loki might one day do something which Harry would never be able to forgive, he had said it himself, yet all the same the man would always have his love and that was dangerous. He was in too deep now and all he could do was to hope that he could influence the trickster so that the events that had passed wouldn't end up destroying them both.

"I had helped the Jotuns into Asgard before and I could do it again. It did not take much for them to see that I was the one who left the paths open and as I am sure Laufey knew who I was it was easy to play the part of traitor. If rumours had made their way to their realm, they would know me to be something of an outcast and the leader of the Jotuns did believe himself to be more cunning than most, probably thinking that he could get something out of the child that had disappointed him by being born a weakling. I told Laufey that he would be allowed to the Allfather's side where he could kill the man."

"You wanted him dead?" Harry was startled. That was not the impression he had gotten. Loki had come to resent Odin, he had learned this, but to want him dead? That was on a whole different level. Patricide was not easily overlooked.

"That depends on who _him_ is referring to. I wanted Laufey dead."

"Oh."

Loki chuckled dryly. "What better way to have him executed than to do it myself in defence of my adopted father?"

"And you did it?"

"Yes. That part of the plan went well."

"Patricide?"

Loki scoffed. "I wouldn't go so far as to call it that. Laufey deserves the title even less than Odin does. However I digress, I now had good cause to eradicate Jotunheim."

"What?" Harry startled. "Why would you do that? What possible gain could you draw from it? They are your people!"

"Do not say that I am one of them!" Loki roared. "I am not. I could have been once, but I was brought up an Asgardian and that makes me one."

Harry smiled, making Loki pause. "Oh, clever, Harry, very clever. You wanted me to say that."

"Only to help you see what you already know."

"Hmm. I suppose. Even after all that had happened I still wanted approval. Now more than ever I felt the need to prove myself. To show that I was a worthy son, that I belonged, that letting me be heir to the throne was the right decision to make. When the Allfather woke once more I would be the one who saved him and I would be the one who destroyed our enemies, taking revenge for his would be assassination. But Thor returned, just in time it seemed, ready to stop my plans and I could not allow it. We fought as the Bifrost was set to tear Jotunheim apart and he, fancying himself mature now, having found love, destroyed the bridge to save a race he had only days before been prepared to kill with his own hands."

"People do change, they can learn."

"He had over a thousand years to grow up," Loki sneered.

"Sometimes it isn't time that is needed. It can be something which appears small to others, but fundamentally changes who you are. You say that he found love? Can you honestly say that after meeting me, you haven't changed?"

"No."

"I'm afraid that it has not been for the better. It appears to have given you the motivation, and restrictions weren't ever something you had. I'm not sure what to think any more, Loki."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm beginning to think that this is too much. You have my love, I cannot change that. But I cannot, no, I _will_ not be with you if it will make you do these things. You cannot put us above everyone else. You wanted to prove that you were fit to be king and in the end you seem to have made the same mistakes you accused your brother of. You have been foolish and reckless. You haven't acted like a King, but as the spoilt Prince you actually are."

"How dare you?" Anger was rising in Loki. He didn't tolerate being questioned, lest of all by a man who was so many times younger than him, no matter if it was Harry.

"I dare," Harry said, standing tall. "I am not afraid of you and if it comes down to it I will not hesitate to stop you." They both knew that Loki was more or less defenceless at the moment with his magic bound and nearly depleted in any case. Harry may not have his vast experience but were they to fight now it was the wizard who would come out the victor.

"Are you threatening me now, Harry?"

"No. I am giving you a warning." Harry had not forgotten that he had promised himself to be understanding, but Loki needed to know where he stood and if speaking harshly was the only way to make him see then so be it.

"If you want your life to continue, if you want to be all that you can be you have to put this behind you. You have to stop being bitter, and see that the people around you care," Loki curled his lips, not agreeing, "not all of them, that is true," Harry continued unperturbed, "but those that matters. Families fight. That does not mean they don't love each other. If I am to be with you, I have to trust you and for that to happen you will have to make that promise I asked of you before."

"And if I will not do it?"

"Then I will say good bye."

Loki avoided answering by beginning to speak again. "Thor destroyed the Bifrost. There was an explosion. The Allfather arrived just in time to grab Thor's hand. He held one end of my spear and I held the other, dangling over the abyss. I tried to explain what I had intended to do."

"Your father did not approve."

"No, he didn't. With just two words he rejected me and I let go."

"No," Harry gasped in horror. He may be angry with Loki, but the image that appeared in his mind was something he wanted to reject, he did not want to think of Loki falling to his end. He had been shown memories of Asgard and he could imagine the edge of the realm and the black void beyond.

"Yes. In that moment all that mattered was that I had failed to acquire his liking. By all rights I should have been dead. But something else happened. The power of the damaged and falling Bifrost opened a hole in space and time and I fell through it. I ended up lost in the hidden pathways of the universe unable to navigate as I usually can when travelling through them. I was unable to hold on to anything or find direction. I was lost and in time so was my mind. Time sized to matter. It could have been days, eons, minutes or months. I forgot who I was and where I came from. I only knew that I still existed and that I had given my word to you that I would return."

Harry felt distinctly bad now. "Loki, I didn't know."

Loki sighed quietly, showing once more how his mood changed to quickly to be normal. "No and how could you? I don't blame you. I didn't tell you what I was planning, and you were not there to see it happen, and no one knew to inform you. After what I can only deem to be an eternity I arrived at a strange place. It was outside the universe that is known to us, home to creatures that were at the same time so forging, and so alike us. Ending up there might have influenced the emotions that grew strongest within me. That realm was desolate and dead, it was a miracle in on itself that anything could live there, or perhaps curse would be a better word, for ultimately they want to conquer the universe, or so they said in not so many words. I think there was more than that. I think they were preparing to cause the ultimate destruction. It is my belief that they will not stop until they have reached their final goal; the death of all life."

Harry shivered as he imagined the creatures Loki spoke of. He had seen footage of the battle in New York and their home world was sure to reflect their physical appearance. But it was not what they looked like that unsettled him as much as the goals Loki said that they strived for. "Who are they?" he asked a slight tremor in his voice.

"The one who leads them is one of the ancient beings of the world, Thanos is his name. The reason they wanted to attack earth was to attain the Tesseract. I realize now that it must be kept from them at all costs, otherwise we are all domed."

"So you are not on the side of chaos after all?"

"Hmph. Chaos certainly, absolute death, not as much. I enjoy trickery, and I am not averse to killing, that however does not mean that I want the entire universe to be void of life."

"Good, I guess."

Loki smirked at Harry's uncertain tone. "I have seen the error of the decision I made when I choose to alley myself with them. I only did it because it would give me something I wanted and it was the only way for me to attain it, just as they only tolerated me for the same reason. No more. I let them down and I will be the first person to meet my end if they have their saying."

"Are you saying that you will give me your word to not put yourself or me above all else?"

"I-" Loki closed his eyes. He didn't want to, but he didn't want Harry to give up on him either.

"You can overcome what happened. We can move on, together. We can both try to do what is best for this world and with us on the side of those who are trying to protect, the odds of success will rise, if only a tiny bit." Harry placed his hand back on Loki's shoulder. "Please," he whispered.

Loki opened his eyes, and stared into the wizard's emerald coloured eyes. "Is that what you desire?"

"It is."

He shook his head. "It it is madness."

"Then by all means, let us be mad."

Loki smiled. "Then you have my word. I love you, Harry."

"I love you too." Harry moved his hand up, placing it on Loki's cheek, feeling the stubble that had begun to grow and tracing a faint scar that hadn't been there one year ago. He leaned in closer, brining their lips together in a kiss that started out gentle.

They were together now, and as Loki had given his word, come hell or high water, nothing would be able to tear them apart.

Loki could feel himself relaxing. The familiarity of Harry's lips moving against his own made all his doubts ebb away. As Harry opened his mouth and he was met with the first stroke of a probing tongue he knew that he could have done nothing else but to give his word. Anything Harry asked he would have.

He brought up his own hands, placing one on the wizard's waist and the other in his hair, drawing him closer and intensifying the kiss. As long as he could get to do this again, he would put up with any idiocy the world could throw at them.

"What the hell!"

Though he would prefer the world to wait a bit longer.

* * *

**AN 27th July 2013:**

Part 4. The first three parts got titles beginning with The R...

I hadn't planned it, but since it worked out that way I'll use it for all parts. I'm not sure about this chapter. It felt a bit dragging. A lot of dialogue and talking back and forth, but I felt that it was needed for Harry and Loki to reconcile. They need a united front for what is to come and that couldn't happen unless they talked things through and once I got started there was no stopping it.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought.

Until next part!


	5. The Rabbit

**An Earthborn Asgardian**

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This is a Harry Potter, The Avengers Crossover by Kefalion aka. Frida. This is a story with focus on Harry Potter and Loki, but also on the relation between the wizards of earth and the Asgardians. This is Loki/Harry.

As you very well know I don't own the plot or the characters that you recognize.

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**Part 5: The Rabbit**

_Words: 3 333_

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Loki and Harry sprang apart when they heard the door to the cell slam open and the subsequent exclamation.

"Potter, what is the meaning of this?" The Director of SHIELD, Nicholas Fury was standing just inside the door, the eye that wasn't hidden behind a patch was wide open.

"It is exactly what it looks like," Harry answered the furious man, with an ironic tilt to his voice.

"Then would you care to explain what it looks like, 'cause I'm not sure I want to consider any possibility at all."

Loki was smirking openly.

"Well I..." Harry began to say.

"How do you know him? Where you helping him out all along?"

Harry gaped, incredulous. "What? No! I didn't know he was back on earth until yesterday! And we met about eight years ago."

"I did an experiment when I was young," Loki began to explain, grasping the chance to annoy the one-eyed director. "Harry here is the result."

"What the hell is he talking about? Potter?"

"I'm not human."

The trench coat wearing man froze. "Oh for Gods sake!" Fury really didn't need this. _At least he's human, _he should have known that the thought would come back to haunt him, as if it wasn't enough that the man was a wizard. "Then pray tell what the hell you are!"

"I was human until I was seventeen. The change happened gradually in the years following. I suppose you could say that I was a demigod with extremely diluted blood before, having one or several distant ancestors who like Thor and Loki were of Asgard. What Loki's experiment did was to awaken that blood, transforming me into one of them."

"No."

"Yes," Loki's smirk broadened, "he is. You cannot conceive what he has become and what he now has the power to do if he wishes."

"You're not helping," Harry said exasperated.

"Who ever said I was trying to? It is a shame that you're dead set on not using that power."

"Well, that is better than what you've been doing with your considerable magic."

"Perhaps."

Fury growled, having gotten enough of the Asgardian who had threatened to ruin their world and seeing him talking familiarity to a man he had considered an ally did not help, not to mention walking in on them with their lips locked together. "Potter, you're coming with me. There'll have to be an end to this madness."

Harry snorted. "Fine," he said. "Though I'm telling you right now that it won't be so easy. Madness might as well have been my middle name, or so I've been told."

Now it was the other dark-haired male who snorted. "I should think so," he muttered, "you make me look positively sane."

Harry gave the other man a half-hearted glare. "You know what, I'm not coming with you," he said turning back to Fury.

"_What_?"

"I need to speak with Thor."

That response made Loki hiss. "You want to speak with him? What use would that be off?"

"I thought we had already established that."

"No, we have not. I gave you my word, yet you would go to _him?_"

"You'll have to return to Asgard, you know this, and I need to speak with him about keeping in contact. I'm not allowing you to disappear out of my life again, and so I need to know about what is going to happen."

Loki glared. "It will not be so simple. You should keep as far away from him as possible."

"Why?"

"How you have remained so ig- innocent," Loki changed his choice of words, "I will never understand. You will not simply be allowed to walk away. As you have associated with me you'll be called as a witness at best, but it is far more likely that you will be forced to travel to Asgard where they will keep you for an undisclosed amount of time, awaiting a trial of your own."

Harry looked unconvinced. "What crime could they possible accuse me of? And why do you think people would like to hurt you? Your father is their leader."

"Odin may call himself my father, but he is not a lenient man. He sent Thor to earth, stripped of his powers and I need not remind you that he was the favoured son. What the Allfather will do to me I can only guess and the rest of the people would rise up against him if he allowed his family undue mercy. Oh no, the people will not stay out of this matter and they are as imaginative and narrow-minded as any people you will find on this planet. I am certain that they will come up with something to accuse you for, as getting to you will hurt me. I suspect that _operating outside of awareness_

_in a realm not granted access to_ is a likely indictment."

"Really?" Harry still looked sceptic.

"There are restrictions for how Asgardians are allowed to travel outside of our realm. Anyone who leaves is under strict observation and the punishment for any transgression can be unjustifiably harsh."

"I will not allow them to treat me however they please."

Fury who had kept his peace for a while chose this moment to speak up. "I cannot have you causing a galactic scandal Potter, if you are required to go you will do so."

"Don't I get a saying in this?"

"If you are at all the man I thought you were you will do what ever it takes to keep the people of this world safe."

Harry frowned. "Is finding me here with Loki enough to make you question all you know about me, Nick?"

"Potter-"

The wizard glared.

"Harry," Fury said, placating the Englishman somewhat. "I am in a situation where I am not sure what to believe anymore. I have to think about the best for the people of this planet, and if that means that I have to reassess one man I will do so."

"Fine, I get it." Harry sighed and turned back to Loki. "I must speak to him either way. Perhaps going to Asgard will not be such a bad thing."

The Trickster opened his mouth to protest.

"I am not a secret anymore, we knew that we would have to deal with things eventually, it will just be a bit sooner than we had planned."

"You could still run, you could keep hidden, there are ways to stay out of Heimdall's sight even with him knowing what to look for."

"It is better that I show that I am willing to cooperate. We can deal with things when they come, if they come."

"They will come."

Harry gave him a look.

"Very well, I'll see you soon then." Grinning in Director Fury's direction, Loki pulled Harry close and drew the wizard into a passionate kiss, knowing that it would aggravate the African-American man while at the same time succeed in giving him another taste of the only being he'd do anything for.

Loki wished he could take it further, but restrained himself, even as the promise of so much more pleasure hiding beneath the clothes of the wizard beckoned him. He drew back and smiled fondly as he saw Harry's dopy expression, though to others it might look like an ordinary smirk.

Harry drew himself back up, and cleared his throat. "Where do you think I'll find Thor?" he asked.

"Likely at Stark Tower, together with the rest of those wayward heroes."

"Those, _wayward heroes,"_ Fury said, scowling, "put a stop to you."

Loki sneered in turn, but kept silent.

"Okay. Fury do you want to come along?"

The Director of SHIELD didn't look happy at the prospect. "I am unsure which will be to your advantage, Potter. I am not their favourite person at the moment."

"But you do want to keep an eye on me don't you?" Harry asked, his tone a bit teasing.

"I don't appreciate being made fun of."

"What? Oh… I just said," he cleared his throat awkwardly, while Loki had backed off, enjoying the free show. Harry had a talent for causing mischief; it just happened to be accidental rather than planned, though he had made his best, and would continue to encourage Harry to use the gift he'd inherited from his father.

"I just meant to say that I believed you would want to make sure everything passes accordingly, I never meant to stir up any trouble."

"Yet somehow you always do. I'd better come with you. Shall we go then?"

"I'm not going to ride in a car when magic can take us there much faster."

"Magic? Right, I forgot about that, not that I understand how I ever could forget. You and your people give us more trouble than anyone else"

"It is what it is," the Englishman said with a small shrug of his shoulders. "And we do clean up most of our own messes. Shall we go?"

"I'd rather not take my chances with this magic of yours if you don't mind. I still remember last time; I think I told you to never do that to me again."

"My apparition is hardly as jarring any more, more power helps."

"I still think I'll take the car."

Harry shrugged again. "Fine by me. I'll see you in a bit then?"

Fury, looked at the pair of dark-haired males in the cell, staring briefly at them as if he had a hard time understanding what he was seeing. He then clenched his jaw, grunted lightly in what Harry supposed was affirmative and left the way he'd come.

"Alone at last," Loki said, "I think I'll say good bye to you one more time."

"Not good bye," Harry murmured as they stepped closer once more, "simply a _I'll see you soon_."

The Asgardian smiled gently, his hand on Harry's cheek. "I think I can agree with that."

.:oOo:.

At Stark Tower, a few floors down from the penthouse, where there was a large living space that was still habitable, the members of the Avengers Initiative had been gathered around the screen showing the feed from Loki's cell for the last hour or so. It was rather ironic that Harry Potter had appeared in the room just as they were speaking about him. After some time most of them had grown a bit bored and turned their attention to other things.

The punch had gotten their attention, but after that the two men that they could see on the screen just appeared to be engaged in conversation, even if it was of the heated kind from time to time. The entire group had also enjoyed seeing the Director barge in on them, but their attention had once more shifted when Potter and Loki engaged in another make out session.

Tony had diligently been working on trying to make the audio work, since it disappeared as a result of Potter's magic but it was to no avail. Yet he wasn't one to give up, having been able to built a suit ready for warfare in a cave in Afghanistan had showed him that as long as he kept working and was a bit resourceful he could get things done, and when someone less stubborn would have given up he kept entering codes and running hacking programs through Jarvis.

Thor was torn between wanting to know what his brother was saying and feeling uncomfortable with looking in on a private conversation. He wasn't usually one to put much stake in the word or concept of privacy, but watching his brother speak so familiarly with a man that for him was a stranger, confiding in him rather than in his family made him ache, and feel the need to look away, allowing them the freedom to truly be alone as it was what his brother surely desired. For all that had happened between them, Thor still cared, and he didn't want to do anything more to enhance his brother's disdain for him.

Watching them kiss had strangely enough managed to embarrass him. He wouldn't have thought such a thing possible after that one time when Lady Sif, the Warriors Three, his mother and Loki had found him naked in the Palace kitchens, climbing on the shelves to get to a cookie jar that was placed at the top.

After that incident, Thor had come to the conclusion that embarrassment was not an emotion that was to his advantage, or perhaps he'd simply run out of mortification once he sobered up from the inebriation that had clouded his mind at the time and was told what had happened. One thing was certain; none of his friends had ever allowed him to live it down.

Natasha had kept her eyes looked on the screen and nobody doubted that she was following the conversation without problem, reading their lips whenever the two people in the cell had their faces turned to the camera. Tony and Thor could once in a while be seen glancing at her, looking as if they were thinking about asking her to tell what was going on, only to change their minds.

Clint and Steve were talking about baseball, Clint catching the Captain up to some of the games he'd missed and Bruce had closed his eyes, dozing lightly with his head against his shoulder, an expression of deceptive calm on his prematurely lined face.

When Harry Potter disappeared from the cell it is no surprise that Natasha was the first to react. When the man, half a second later, appeared in the room with a crack, the red-haired agent, immediately moved, a knife appearing in her hand, and in the next instant the blade of the knife was resting against the newly arrived man's throat.

Before any of the others had the chance to see Natasha move, Harry had moved in turn, instincts guiding him and when the five male Avengers had turned to the commotion it was to see Natasha on her back, a dark haired man sitting across her stomach with a thin stick of wood pointed under her chin and from what they could make out, the woman was paralyzed, unable to even blink her eyes.

The man turned his head and looked at them, seeming to come out of a daze. "Damn," he swore under his breath when he saw their hostile expressions. None of them had any weapons at hand, though Clint's hands were twitching and if you knew anything about them you knew that weapon weren't a necessity for a few of them.

"What did you do to her?" Clint asked hissing. His muscles were tense and he was ready to attack at the smallest twitch from the man who had downed Natasha. He obviously recognized him as Harry Potter and though the information SHIELD had on the Englishman should make him an ally he was together with Loki and that made Clint wary.

"A simple petrifaction spell, nothing harmful, I assure you," the Potter answered calmly. With slow deliberate motions, he removed his wand from Natasha's chin and got up from the floor still moving slowly. "Sorry," he said, and while he kept an eye on the Avengers he made a small flick with the wand.

The on looking men took half a step forward, but when they noticed that Natasha was moving now, getting up from the floor, her face expressionless and her movements fluent, they backed down.

"You've got some good reflexes," he complimented her, looking a bit bashful as he tucked the stick into the sleeve of his red hoodie.

"Same," she said, giving a small nod of recognition.

"I'm surprised I took you by surprise, considering that you've been watching all along," Potter murmured next.

"You knew we were looking?" Tony asked, eyes gleaming with both suspicion and excitement. "How?"

"Well that large screen over there, showing Loki would be a rather big clue." Potter cleared his throat. "How much do you all know about me?"

"My brother has informed me of your association and I have told the others in this room," Thor began.

"We know that your name is Harry James Potter. You are thirty years old, going on thirty-one. You have a godson named Teddy Lupin. You've been working with SHIELD and several different branches of both the US and UK military. When you were seventeen you stopped a so called Dark Lord from taking over the England, oh and before you became a _god_," Tony made quoting marks in the air, "you were a wizard." He stopped taking a gulp of air, having said all of that very fast.

Harry blinked. "That's not creepy at all," he said lightly. "Do you know what kind of cereal I prefer for breakfast too?"

"You prefer to eat oatmeal or toast for breakfast," Tony answered.

The wizard's green eyes grew in size. "Right, creepy," he muttered.

The other Avengers looked at Tony.

"What?" he said. "It says so in an interview I found in SHIELD's archives, it's from some tabloid called Witch Weekly."

"No, not creepy at all," Harry continued. "Just as it isn't creepy to know that you've been watching me and Loki as we…" he blushed not ending the sentence. "I didn't think I actually needed to put up the silencing ward. And now I feel at a disadvantage, you know all that about me, and I know nearly nothing about you. I should have taken the car with Nick."

"Nick?" Steve asked. "You mean the Director?"

"Of course he means the Director, we saw the picture of them shaking hands," Tony said. "Now I have a few questions. You're a wizard, is that wand waving, I noticed the stick, potion making, cloak wearing wizard or what?"

"Eh, yeah, I suppose you could say that. The stereotype is rather accurate. Pointy hats are common, so are cloaks and robes, we use wands and ride brooms."

"Uh-huh, so how does this magic thing work? I've tried to talk to the large lump of a Norse Deity over there, but he doesn't know much about magic, and I don't really fancy sitting in a cell speaking to Reindeer Games."

Harry gaped. "Are you talking about Loki?"

"Course, you've seen the helmet, right, you must have, makes me wonder what goes for fashion on Asgard. So what can you do with magic? All I've seen your beau do is to conjure up illusions and then using that fancy stick of destiny."

"Can someone else please take over this conversation?" Harry asked, looking a bit wary at Tony who was advancing on him with a manic glint in his eyes, making Harry think about Hermione when she'd found something she desperately wanted to study.

"Jarvis, you've been running the scans, right?"

"Of course, sir," the virtual intelligence said dryly. "Mr. Potter is giving off readings similar to both Thor and Loki, tough with some difference. The results will not be complete until more readings on actually performed _magic_ have been tested."

"Okay. So Potter, would you be averse to doing a bit of magic, for instance could you make a rabbit appear inside a hat?"

Harry began to back away slowly, looking to the other people in the room. "Please can someone else be elected as spokesperson?"

Just then the elevator doors down the hall opened with a light ping.

"Jarvis, you are supposed to keep people wearing eye-patches away from here."

"It is not Director Fury, sir."

The sound of high heels against the parquet floor was soon followed by the appearance of a smartly dressed woman with strawberry blond hair. She had her arms full of files, and a mug of takeaway coffee in her hand. She paused when she saw all the Avengers standing up and Tony well on his way to cornering an unidentified man against a wall.

"Tony, do I want to know what's going on?" Pepper Potts asked.

"Just grilling, Loki's boyfriend."

* * *

**AN 26th August 2013:**

I had some fun writing this chapter. I struggled a bit with the first part, but after going over it a couple of times I believe it turned out rather good.

It's a little bit tricky keeping order of all the Avengers and it will continue to be so, but I'll figure something out.

I have no idea where the story about Thor naked in the kitchens came from, so don't ask. We know the Cap must like baseball a little as he once attended a game and I can see Clint liking it somewhat too. Natasha is a brilliant spy/assassin it's no stretch of the imagination to think that she has some skill in lip-reading.

Sorry for ending it so abruptly, but I was struggling again and as it was of decent length I thought that I might as well post, and not keep you all waiting.

I hope you enjoyed Part 5. Let me know what you thought, and feel free to tell me what you want the guys to talk about come next part!


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